Chapter 1334

Looks like we've already figured out the answer in our hearts.

"Well, partner's right… we must step forward." Bai'e again apologized to Duoduolami, "Sorry, Village Chief! Aolixie is in danger; as her child… I cannot stand by and do nothing!"

"…I understand." Duoduolami let out a long sigh, "You… take care of yourselves, okay?"

"Come on, Xilian. Come on, partner—even without a sword, give me a hoe… even if all I have is the crudest common iron, I will use it to defend our homeland!"

Watching Bai'e step forward, his resolute back, Xilian also seemed to understand something in that instant.

"I see… besides the surface interpretation, it can also carry this layer of meaning. It wasn't perfect from the start, standing on high clouds, casting a compassionate gaze over the whole world…"

"Rather, it starts with this small step, setting out from a tranquil village, gradually widening 'the world in our hearts,' growing while redeeming… When we were young, I told him: I hope this world will never need a savior."

"…But when Weiyuan was shattered, I felt fortunate… he was willing to walk this path."

Xilian lifted her head, gazing gratefully in the direction of the star: "And this… all thanks to your encouragement, partner."

"Shall we go? We need you by our side, Bai'e… and me. Only then can the courage in our hearts be awakened. I know you're watching, right—future 'great hero'?"

——

Masked Rider Builid

Xilian, don't go——!!

Longwo clutched his head in anguish; feeling utterly helpless as he watched Xilian about to step into a deadly situation—this feeling was truly awful!

"That's Heichi! If you go with Bai'e, the Fire-Thieves will kill you! Senrito, are we really going to watch them send——"

Before the word "death" could leave his mouth, Longwo suddenly realized the lab was unexpectedly quiet; he turned his head and saw Senrito's face utterly calm, even though he was about to witness Xilian being killed—yet he showed not a trace of nervousness.

"……Senrito?"

"Sigh, you idiot, you really do love shouting." Senuto let out a light sigh, "Just watch closely—I don't think Xilian will die so easily."

"Huh?" Longwo looked at him, bewildered.

"If Xilian were killed here by the Fire-Thieves, how would the book 《As I Wrote It》 in her hand be delivered to Mimim's hands? Moreover, Bai'e has no memory of the little fairy at all… just that alone is hard to explain, right?"

Only then did Longwo realize that Bai'e, Aglaea, and the others had never seen a little fairy like Mimim.

"Is Bai'e's memory faulty?"

"That shouldn't be possible." Senrito looked up at the verdant labyrinth in the sky, "It's likely the memory itself is flawed—some details don't match Bai'e's experiences… I just feel something's off, but can't put my finger on it. Perhaps Laigushi is hiding something."

——

"Savior"

Laigushi suddenly appeared behind the star.

"What a pity, how lamentable—even if fate decrees that the boy will bear the world in the future, he cannot become the hero who brings dawn."

The star pondered: "Could it be that salvation still depends on me?"

"Follow them, Your Highness Star. Go witness the man destined never to become a hero, taking the first step on the path of salvation. Please use your eyes to bear this memory to the end, etching his fate into your sight……"

"Thus you will understand his so‑called ideal of 'salvation,' and why it is destined to bury this world."

"……"

"The blood‑red sun, the withered wheat, the village ablaze—right now the boy seems to stand at the world's end."

The sword's edge had curled.

Bai'e panted, his tiger's mouth split, blood staining the hilt, making it slippery and unholdable; yet he dared not loosen his grip on the sword, for the monster before him was not yet fully dead.

"Sizzle——"

Bai'e suddenly dropped his shoulder and swung his arm; the iron sword turned into a cold flash that sliced across the monster's body, that cut slanting from shoulder to abdomen, black viscera clinging to the blade and giving off a pungent odor.

"Everywhere… are monsters……"

"Where… is everyone……"

Unexpectedly, this sword still failed to slay the monster before him; instead, the creature dragged its dying corpse, staggering toward Bai'e.

It was like a scorched, wind‑swayed dry branch, constantly emitting hoarse wails from its mouth, yet it actually spoke human words:

"Bai███e████"

Bai'e froze instantly, staring blankly at the monster approaching him: "…What?"

"█you█how███are███?"

"You… you're speaking to me…?" Bai'e couldn't believe his eyes, staggering back in terror.

"██I██don't██want██to██die█……"

"██Could███we███not███be███best██friends██？█"

Only then did Bai'e notice that the monster was still wearing……

"Ah… that scarf……Livia……" Bai'e trembled all over, unable to control himself, "Surely… it's you……"

"Please please please please please█you█you███"

The monster kept pleading, while continually letting out sharp howls; finally it dragged its broken body and charged at Bai'e.

"No… no……"

As Bai'e raised his hand and brought the blade down, the monster finally lost all life, falling like a withered leaf.

——

Dragon clan.

Aolixie is burning.

In the sky‑screen, the peaceful village that had just been enjoying tranquility instantly turned into a sea of fire; countless black monsters rose from the flames, swaying as they stood, slaughtering… the fallen villagers were quickly wrapped and twisted by the black substance, becoming another writhing mass of black monsters.

In the hall of the Eight Houses of Sheqi, the heads gathered with grim faces, watching this scene. Although they had barely sensed the terror of Heichi's corruption from the Divine Wisdom Tree Garden, none had ever witnessed Heichi slaughtering civilians firsthand—but this time… the horror of Heichi gained its first concrete manifestation.

"The black substance infects the world—this scene…… hey, don't you think it resembles the disasters foretold in the prophecies of Beloberg, the Floating Jade Vessel, and Pinokangni?"

Longma Xianyang was the first to break the silence; as the only family among the Eight Houses tied to armaments, what he feared most was something that could infect and corrode military‑industrial electronics, like a virus—the "anti‑organic equation" in the simulated universe had once plunged him into deep psychological trauma, and although it hadn't lasted long, the equation in an instant seized control of numerous missiles and aimed them at the nearby Ground Self‑Defense Force base……

How many people died back then, again?

Longma Xian Yilang couldn't remember clearly; in short, the night sky over Eastern Capital Eastern River City was lit up by missiles as brightly as daytime.